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War with Ming is either bold or stupid. Seeing as the King of Pegu seems a bit of a fruitcake, I'll plump for the latter! Excellent updates nonetheless, it was good to see Talena unwinding and relaxing for a time, worrying dream apart, but I get the feeling she will soon be thrust into the the action once again.

Beowulf: I haven't, but Mawdaw probably did! Probably something to do with his name...just put in his mind the idea of conquering legions!4th Dimension: Close...close. Similar in many ways for sure, but in a slightly different context.Dewirix: Yeah, far more useful than the Persian Ayatollah's 6 fire stat...which did nothing in 1450! She does have a translator...for now.Adam Clason: The closest analogy I can use is the mad 'Emperor' of Paraguay Francisco Lopez, a man who depopulated his own country through his mad lust for power and war with far stronger states.Boris/Sortulv: Thanks! Welcome to the AAR Sortulv. Range: Well...it's no fun winning all the time. Besides, as you'll see I reduced Ming from 120,000 manpower and WE of 1 to 4,500 and 19.6 respectively. That's pretty good for being outnumbered 10 to 1!blsteen: At this point shock is the only useful stat for fighting. Fire is useless until around the 1570s...and that's in Europe. I was pleased when it turned out I got a 6 shock leader.Zhangku: Yeah. It was originally going to be Pegu. My original concept was Talena fighting with the mad King...but I went a different route. Therefore he'll appear later on, in about 8 or 9 updates time.morningSIDEr: Yes, he is a fruitcake...with extra nuts! And yes, for every period of happiness and peace there must be one of strife and war. It'd be boring if she just sat in a monastery for 420 years!

Now...something quite different. The battle which started it all. I wasn't planning to actually write this, but...it became necessary. As you can see, this sort of breaks the narrative, but I had to change the order of things a bit. So the end of Mawdaw will continue after this flashback. Enjoy!

--------

FLASHBACK – THE BATTLE

As soon as the dropship touched down in the space station Talena knew something was wrong. There was no resistance.
That was weird in itself; their target was a rogue research facility which should have defences of some sort. And yet there was nothing.
She didn’t have long to ponder this thought though as she ordered her squad into position. Every one of them wore the same black armour with the unit markings on the shoulder and helmet, and each marine carried a rapid-firing carbine, a pistol and various grenades and melee weapons.
After detailing some of her troops into covering positions she led the advance with weapon ready to the door at the far end of the docking bay. There was still no resistance, or sign of anyone. This was wise, as the ship the marines used had heavy ordinance which could cut down anyone foolish enough to draw a weapon.

The squad burst through the first door into a long passage, but still found no resistance. Talena went over to her second in command, Selena.
“Take Christian and Michael around and shadow us. Follow my cue,” she said so quietly that only her friend could hear her.
“Got it.”
“Captain?” Hauritz asked, confused as three of the unit headed off down a side passage.
“Securing that half of the facility,” Talena replied airily. She didn’t like having senior officers questioning her, and also didn’t want her plans broadcast out loud where any sensors might overhear them. “Let’s go.”

It was as they entered a cargo bay large enough to hold dozens of containers that the ambush was sprung. Talena had half expected it, seeing that the layout of the station funnelled her into one room. Therefore, the surprise was somewhat diluted when the first shots opened up from the far side of the room.
From catwalks and galleries above, as well as in concealed positions among the metal crates, a sudden hail of fire opened up on the marines.
Talena saw Liam Colby get hit and go down, his armour pierced. Beside her Max Green, her old comrade from the Academy, took a bullet straight through one leg, and fell into cover beside her.
“There’s enough of the bastards!” he said, firing around the corner and ducking back.
Talena nodded, spared a look at their entrance, but it was too far away to retreat. She ducked out of cover, fired at a man with a grenade and smirked as it went off at his feet. Still, it meant that whoever these attackers were, they’d have more explosives. Already the firing was slackening, clear sign that they’d be starting with the big guns.
She was a soldier, and she had the lives of others to take into account, not just her own. She was a marine, and they didn’t cower in the shadows. On an intellectual level Talena knew that patriotism, pride and honour were not things to risk her life over. But right at that moment she wasn’t thinking intellectually, she was acting on instinct.
“Smoke and fire! Right now! Execute Alpha-Three! Go!” she shouted. She spared a glance for Hauritz, but he was blazing away with his pistol at the enemy, so she didn’t bother with him.
Her command prompted her squad to draw out a mix of smoke and fragmentation grenades and hurl them towards the enemy. The enemy evidently had the same idea, as there were a few blasts on their side, and another marine went down missing half an arm.
Talena then executed a reckless movement; Alpha-Three, which was basically a head on attack. The smoke grenades doubled as stun weapons, so her charge was not so much suicidal as planned recklessness.
From out of the smoke with a full carbine she emerged and shot down two men before they could bear on her. More of the squad appeared, and though another was hit, they cut down and drove off more of the enemy. For a moment it seemed as though the enemy on the gratings above would take advantage of the confusion, but a sudden volley cut them down or drove them back.
From out of the smoke above Talena saw Selena give her a salute, then move forward in pursuit with her two companions.
“Colonel, let’s go,” Talena said. Two of her squad were down, badly hurt, and another two injured. Still, she couldn’t wait, couldn’t give the enemy time to regroup. “Rest of you, let’s go!”

The central area of the entire station was a vast circular room. Scattered workbenches, equipment and boxes were spread around. At the centre there was a huge, squat machine. Dozens of cables and leads ran into it, and the whole thing gave off a strange glow.
Talena let off a smoke grenade as soon as the door opened, and took cover behind an overturned metal bench. Bullets hissed all around her, some knocking great dents in the benchtop, but she was spared. Ducking up, she fired a volley of shots into an area of cover where she knew two men were lurking. She was rewarded with a pair of screams.
By now the room was in chaos, with bullets zinging off the machine in the centre and ricocheting around.
“Captain, tell your men to hold their fire from the machine. It could be dangerous!” Hauritz called.
Talena nodded, despite herself. “Watch the machine, marines! Concentrate!”
Again there was a hail of gunfire, and Selena with her two comrades took the mercenaries in the flank. Talena herself drew the enemy’s fire to one side, and used her last grenade on a pair of enemy hiding behind a packing crate.

Finally, there was no resistance. A few men surrendered, including Professor Channing, who looked at Talena with evident hatred.
Among the others was a broad, balding man in his middle age who seemed to be in charge and a couple of others. The rank and file mercenaries were escorted away, leaving the leader and the Professor under guard. She vaguely recognised the big man as Cyrus Cade, but only from description.
Colonel Hauritz approached. “Excellent work, Captain. The reports about you were quite correct, you are a fighting soldier.”
“Thank you, sir.” She turned away and yelled at her troops, removing her helmet to get some fresh air into her lungs. “Ramirez, Tyson, Mason, watch these two. Green, get your wound seen to. Sergeant Byrne, have a look at that control panel. We’ll get the techs in and carve this thing up later.”

Michael Channing

Cyrus Cade

She was just savouring her victory, another successful mission, when it happened. As she turned back she saw Cade pulling out a concealed weapon and getting behind part of the machine. Meanwhile Channing made a dive for a bank of controls, and Hauritz seemed too surprised to stop him.
Cade fired at her, and Talena dived aside and returned fire, forcing Cade to take cover. Her squad moved in, but at that moment Channing hit something on the controls. Instantly the whole machine began to hum loudly and glow.
Talena, not understanding why Hauritz was doing nothing, drew her pistol and fired two quick shots, and Channing fell onto the controls, bleeding heavily. Talena rushed forward and tossed him aside and looked blankly at the lit up bank of switches.
“Selena, shut this thing down!” she shouted at her tech.

Selena was moving forward, but was too far away, just passing a power converter. Beside her Hauritz was looking at the machine. Channing was on the deck with blood pouring from his chest. Behind the bulk of the machine Cade was still at large, while further back and approaching were her three soldiers.

And then it happened.

For Talena there was a light so bright that it was blinding, a sensation of falling...and then nothing. Nothing, that is, until she arrived in the room of Charles VI of France.

A Blessing and a Curse: EUIV Narrative AAR! In ProgressDownfall: A Byzantine Narrative AAR. See the fall of the mightiest empire the world has ever seen. On Hold3rd Place OVERALL EU3 (Highest Narrative) AARland Choice Awards Q3 2012!The Grey Eminence: A British Narrative/History AAR. Witness the rise of Great Britain to world power! COMPLETE!WINNER EU - Narrative for AARland Choice AwAARds 2012 Q1!The Eternal Exile: Nation Hopping AAR with a mix of narrative and game-play. On Hold. | WINNER EU - Narrative for AARland Choice AwAARds 2011 Q1!

Winner: AAR Showcase 29/11/2011 | Winner: Character Writer of the Week 19/1/2012 | Winner: Fan of the Week 20/9/2010 and 20/8/2012 | I was Character Writer of the Week 13/12/2010

A good and vivid scene. I do have to wonder if Channing perhaps survived as a result of the time travelling, as if he was given the same immortality which Talena has perhaps his wounds would not have proven mortal and thus he may be bringing about his evil plans! Regardless, good stuff and I'm now looking forward to Talena meeting Cade at some point.

The flashback was needed at this point. Believe me...it offers an explanation of how she was thrown back into time. Now, you can incorporate small flashbacks then and again, or thoughts of those that were with Telana...during lulls in the action...now you can employ small snippets, bring up nagging questions (or answer them) and then you won't overpower the narrative.

Boot On Face: Very true! Such things only lead to trouble.Beowulf: Perhaps he just made a lucky guess? And yeah, he's a great actor, and the character from the Sopranos summed up what I wanted Cade to be like.Dewirix: Maybe...though given the life expectancy of the Roman Emperors you'd wonder why. morningSIDEr: She meets him sooner then you think...heh.blsteen: Well, I admit that she probably had an idea it was him on the station, or had seen his picture. Don't read too much into that bit.Range: Thanks! And yes, the flashbacks are a very nice way of doing things...but I must be careful not to overuse them.adamclason: Thanks! I probably should have done the flashback right at the start...but yeah.

And now we start the Ming sequence...these posts are longer, probably more confusing, and hopefully successful! Read, review and enjoy!

I think I did quite well in the circumstances against Ming. I used small armies to prevent them siege assaulting, scorched the ground, and attacked their small forces. In all I got them down to 4000 manpower and 19.6 war exhaustion. Pretty good for someone outnumbered 10-1!

---------

MAWDAW I PART 4

XXX

8/9/1507

The devastation was total. Every day more and more refugees arrived in the monastery to escape from the devastation of the countryside. The monks took in all those who arrived, even though they barely had enough food for themselves. The strong walls were an effective deterrent to both the invaders and the brigands who had claimed the desolated lands abandoned by the peasants.
Talena had done what she could for the people, but what she noticed most was the way people looked at her. It was true that she naturally looked different to everyone else, but the way some looked at curious; like they had seen her before.

She soon found the cause when the army arrived outside the monastery. They encamped at the bottom of the steep slope leading to the monastery, and with them were a good many siege engines and wagons. She couldn’t fathomed why an army of at least five thousand strong had been sent to attack a single refuge.
Before an attack was launched a small party of Chinese soldiers approached conspicuously carrying no weapons. It wasn’t like the monks had any weapons except for wooden staffs and roof tiles.
Talena was there with the Lama, Quan and others, when the delegation arrived.
“We greet you, soldiers. We have no weapons here, just civilians fleeing the war,” the Lama called.
“We acknowledge that,” said one of the party, a man dressed in fine silk robes and wearing a wide hat that shielded his face. “But you have within your walls a woman. A woman named Talena. She is an enemy of the Emperor and will surrender to us. If this is done your monastery will be spared.”
Talena, in the shadows, felt all eyes on her. All she could do was lamely shrug. However, something about the man’s voice was odd, unusual.
She stepped from her refuge and into sight. “I have done nothing to your Emperor. I have never met him, nor even fought his servants.”
“That’s really beside the point, Captain Mazari. You’re a long way from Titan, but be sure your sin shall find you out.” The man below pulled off his hat and looked up at her. He was Caucasian, in his late thirties, and balding. “Cyrus Cade at your service, ma’am.”
Talena had no idea what to say. He was familiar to look at vaguely, and the name was also one she knew. The problem was that although she had over a century and a quarter’s memories, only someone from her time could have known about Titan. That meant he had come back with her. He wasn’t one of her squad, which meant that he had been one of the enemies in the final battle. She’d seen him at the final battle on board the space station, she was sure, one of the men she’d captured.
“Now Captain, if you come down here and surrender this army will leave these monks to their own devices.” He was speaking in her native language so that they could not be overheard and understood.
“And if I refuse?”
Cade smirked. “One advantage of coming from the future is that we know some pretty interesting things. The Professor did wonderful work with petroleum and pine resin to create a type of napalm. Not to mention that we have explosives that could level that wall. You might not die, but those people must be packed in pretty tight there. An exploding cask of napalm...” he grinned “could be kind of dangerous.”
“Professor Channing survived did he? Shame. So he’s advising the Emperor is he? Is that how you found me here?”
Cade seemed amused. “Channing? He’s a typical mad scientist. He doesn’t give the orders, and he doesn’t have the Emperor’s ear. Problem is that you got him right in the chest and then we got sucked back here, so it’s stuck in him forever. Not too happy with you, for sure! But he’s not the boss. No...you’ll have to go meet him yourself...with my escort of course.”
“Naturally.” Talena looked at the worried, confused monks, and then down to the people. She knew that she had only one choice. If she refused then they would kill every person there, and even if she did escape she’d have those deaths on her mind.
Finally she sighed and nodded to Cade. “I’m coming out. I don’t really have much choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Talena. You could make the choice to watch the people in there get turned to ash, or you could do as I say.”
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Take you to the Emperor...and the boss. Now get a move on. You haven’t got all day.”

And so Talena exited the gate and walked towards the soldiers. She held out her gun to Cade, who took it and stored it.
“Tie her tightly, but make sure she can walk. Move out, we make for the port,” he told the other soldiers.
And so now Talena was a captive of her enemies, enemies from the present and the future.

XXX

For more than three years the fighting raged on. It was a process so brutal that both sides suffered terrible losses. The armies of the Pegu King, as well as deserters and villagers ambushed the Chinese invaders, then retreated into the jungle. The Chinese armies came to a point where they begun to kill any adult, young or old, and devastate the properties left behind. It is estimated that over one hundred thousand Ming Chinese warriors died of wounds or other causes, while almost half the population of the Kingdom also died. It was no chivalric war; it was a war of annihilation.

King Mawdaw, who had started it all with his mad, reckless bid for power, tried to urge his dwindling forces onward to total victory. Finally his army became angered and afraid of his madness and he was assassinated. It did no good; China had suffered too many losses by this point to be merciful. 80% of the Kingdom was seized, and the rest forced to pay homage to the Emperor. It was a bloody victory, and the chief legacy of Mawdaw P’an-Lo is that his actions inadvertently brought about the downfall of his Ming Chinese enemies....

A Blessing and a Curse: EUIV Narrative AAR! In ProgressDownfall: A Byzantine Narrative AAR. See the fall of the mightiest empire the world has ever seen. On Hold3rd Place OVERALL EU3 (Highest Narrative) AARland Choice Awards Q3 2012!The Grey Eminence: A British Narrative/History AAR. Witness the rise of Great Britain to world power! COMPLETE!WINNER EU - Narrative for AARland Choice AwAARds 2012 Q1!The Eternal Exile: Nation Hopping AAR with a mix of narrative and game-play. On Hold. | WINNER EU - Narrative for AARland Choice AwAARds 2011 Q1!

Winner: AAR Showcase 29/11/2011 | Winner: Character Writer of the Week 19/1/2012 | Winner: Fan of the Week 20/9/2010 and 20/8/2012 | I was Character Writer of the Week 13/12/2010